The emergence of low emissions fuels has created a need to increase the availability of olefins for use in alkylation, oligomerization, MTBE and ETBE synthesis. In addition, a low cost supply of olefins continues to be in demand to serve as feedstock for polyolefin production.
Fixed bed processes for light paraffin dehydrogenation have recently attracted renewed interest for increasing olefin production. However, these type of processes typically require a high capital investment as well as a high operating cost. It is, therefore, advantageous to increase olefin yield using processes which require only a minimal amount of capital investment. It would be particularly advantageous to increase olefin yield in catalytic cracking processes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,728 discloses a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit which is operated to maximize olefin production. The FCC unit has two separate risers in which different feed streams are introduced. The operation of the risers is designed so that a certain catalyst will act to convert a heavy gas oil in one riser and a different catalyst will act to crack a lighter olefin/naphtha feed in the other riser. Conditions within the heavy gas oil riser are modified to maximize either gasoline or olefin production. The primary means of maximizing production of the desired product is by using a specified catalyst.
A problem inherent in producing olefin products using FCC units is that the process depends upon a specific catalyst balance to maximize production. In addition, even if a specific catalyst balance can be maintained to maximize overall olefin production, olefin selectivity is generally low due to undesirable side reactions such as extensive cracking, isomerization, aromatization and hydrogen transfer reactions. It is, therefore, desirable that olefin production be maximized in a process which allows a high degree of control over olefin selectivity.